The Junior’s Perspective – Remembering Your Roots

Click here to read the complete article
400 – The Annual, 2022-23

By Jessica Braatz

Juniors Showmanship of the past was characterized by large and talented entries of the sport’s best and brightest. Many of the great past juniors have become our idols and handlers today. Since then, there has been a shift in Juniors. We are seeing lower entries and a different purpose of participation. In my last article both Valerie Nunes-Atkinson and Karen Mammano brought up interesting points regarding the changes to Junior Showmanship recently. How has Junior Showmanship changed over the past decade, and how does this affect the future of our sport?

While working for professional handlers since I was twelve, I’ve heard many different stories, and I’ve spoken to dozens of past successful junior handlers. Most agree that juniors helped set them up for success, but now it has changed. Gone are the days of all breed shows with over a hundred juniors entered–most neck and neck with regard to winning. Today, we’re seeing a shift into intrinsic value rather than an expansion of one’s abilities. What happened to showing dogs that will benefit you in the future?

This shift in focus stems from many different issues. Karen, in her interview, mentioned the effects of social media on juniors. She said, “it’s not always for the better.” I think she’s right. I see hoards of posts every day often stating placements over “top-ranked handlers” or “top-ranked specials”. Some go as far as saying over “the number one junior” or dog. Seeing these makes me think back to a lesson I learned years ago: when posting on social media, no matter what, it will bother someone. Posting is not a neutral thing, all it does is incite drama. The best thing that we can do is be neutral and kind. Build your dog up, but don’t tear someone else down. This is something that has stuck with me, and I notice that many handlers do the same. It just shows a mutual respect for all of us in the fancy.

 Click here to read the complete article
400 – The Annual, 2022-23

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=254339

Posted by AnthonyA on Jan 13 2023. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.